A UC Irvine research project may be the first of its kind to attempt to measure the impact and feasibility of the use of robots to bring homebound students into the classroom when they can't be there physically.

Over the next year K-12 will be placing more emphasis on coding as a form of literacy and on students as creators. Schools that don't already have makerspaces will want to get them and online learning will start to look like something that's typical rather than out of the norm. Those are the "short-term" trends and technologies that surfaced in the 2016 K-12 Edition of the NMC/CoSN Horizon Report.

Apple is donating various apple products to approximately 4,500 teachers and more than 50,00 students as part of a promise to help students acquire coding skills. The company is also launching a new program for teachers to learn to use the Apple products.

Salesforce is continuing its partnership with San Francisco Unified School District and forming a new partnership with Oakland Unified School District. The company is donating $8.5 million and providing volunteers to help expand computer science education within both districts.

Teachers in K-12 and higher education share information on how to help students "scan and 3D print museum artifacts," explore the production of prosthetics for kids and "manage an open 3D-printing lab."

Coral Academy of Science Las Vegas (CASLV) is a free public charter school that emphasizes science, technology and math. Coral Academy's students take college-prep courses with an emphasis on advanced placement classes and compete in numerous engineering and science fairs, robotics tournaments and math and science contests, regionally and nationally.

Natalie Hampton, a 16-year-old from Sherman Oaks, CA, has created "Sit With Us," a free mobile app that allows students to become "ambassadors" and privately invite other kids to join them in the cafeteria or lunchroom.

Sponsor: AIAA Foundation (American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics)
Award: $250
Number of Awards: Not specified (up to two grants per educator per year)
Qualification:
Teacher submitting proposal must be AIAA member (Educator Associate membership is free and includes other benefits); homeschool clubs of 25 or more students also eligible
Application Deadline: Nov. 16 (submission period opens Oct. 1)

Sponsor: Verizon
Award: $5,000 plus technology for state-level winners; $15,000 additional cash, plus travel and support, for national winners
Number of Awards: 102 state-level winners (one middle school and one high school team from each state, plus DC); nine national winners (four middle school and four high school, plus one "fan favorite" based on public voting)
Application Deadline: Nov. 18

Sponsor: Toshiba America Foundation
Award: Two categories: Up to $5,000 and more than $5,000
Number of Awards: Not specified
Application Deadline: Up to $5,000 awarded on a rolling basis; Feb. 1, 2017 deadline for applications for more than $5,000

Deadline: Ongoing

Deadline: Ongoing

Deadline: Ongoing

Deadline: Ongoing

Deadline: Ongoing
Award: No more than 10 percent of an organization's annual operating expenses or 25 percent of the total budget for the project being funded; awards have ranged from the hundreds to the millions of dollars.
Number of Awards: Varies
Qualification: Project should "directly serve or impact children living in urban poverty, particularly in the areas of education, family economic stability (including microfinance) and childhood health."

Dec. 8–9, 2016
New York, NY

Jan. 24–27, 2017
Orlando, FL

Feb. 6–10, 2017
Austin, TX

Professional Resources

THE STEAM is a monthly K-12 newsletter focused exclusively on STEM and STEM+Arts (STEAM). Each issue highlights the technologies, curriculum tools, trends and best practices that power education in science, technology, engineering, math and the arts. Issues also spotlight exceptional projects and programs taking place in schools across the nation. Please direct any questions or comments about THE STEAM to dnagel@1105media.com

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